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Files in Dropbpx have grey X

One of our users is having issues where a grey 'X' appears over the file icon. Files are located within the Dropbox folder.

The files are not openable or moveable in this form and are not presented with the option to right click and download to a local save either, which would normally be shown with the green tick. Rebooting the device solves the issue however, the issues re-occur.

Dropbox ver 140.4.1951

This is an error log I pulled from Event Manager:

Log Name: Application
Source: DbxSvc
Date: 1/21/2022 11:23:14 AM
Event ID: 281
Task Category: (4)
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: *********
Description:
CertFindCertificateInStore failed with: (-2146885628) Cannot find object or property.

Any ideas?

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Rich

@LB77 wrote:
One of our users is having issues where a grey 'X' appears over the file icon.

The X is a Windows icon; not a Dropbox icon. Refer to the What does the gray “X” icon mean? section at the bottom of this help article.

All comments

Rich

@LB77 wrote:
One of our users is having issues where a grey 'X' appears over the file icon.

The X is a Windows icon; not a Dropbox icon. Refer to the What does the gray “X” icon mean? section at the bottom of this help article.

LB77

OK. I've forwarded the basic solutions to the user.

Under what circumstances would the folder/files not be syncing with Dropbox?

Walter

Hey @LB77 - sorry to jump in here, but I just wanted to mention that you can find most of the reasons why this would happen and how to troubleshoot it in this Help Center article.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

LB77

Cheers @Walter

LB77

After a bit of research, the grey X is indeed a windows icon, basically meaning the file is not there or the cannot be found.

Dropbox looked to have hung and clicking on the Dropbox icon in the taskbar did nothing. Rebooted the device and Dropbox started to work again and the grey X was replaced with the sync or cloud icons.

Is a reboot the only way to fix this?

Can I restart the Dropbox service rather than rebooting all the time?

We are also finding that moving a file to another location all within Dropbox can be taking up to 15 minutes to complete!

Why would this be as it's not a large file, maybe a few MB?

Nancy

Hey there, @LB77!

Is there any chance that the desktop app of the user you mentioned above is syncing more than 300k files in total? This would be a possible reason explaining why it gets stuck or is slow from time to time.

If that's not the case, you can try reinstalling the Dropbox app and see if the issue is fixed afterwards.

Keep me posted for more updates!

LB77

@Nancy It's quite possible that there are over 300K files. Unfortunately, I don't have admin access to Dropbox for confirmation.

I suppose right clicking and selecting properties on the Dropbox folder will let me know.

Hannah

Sorry to jump in here too, @LB77!

If this user has more than 300k files in their Dropbox folder, the issue should be resolved by using selective sync, to remove some unused folders.

This will reduce the load of the app and it will work more efficiently.

Operations8

My files in dropbox folder are showing a grey X. Which often is a Windows error, but in this case probably not.

My problem looks a bit like this:

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/View-download-and-export/Files-in-Dropbpx-have-grey-X/td-p/572218

Except i am able to open the files and syncing is working fine.

I have deleted the Windows icon db files. But this only helps when the grey axe is everywhere. I am ONLY getting it in my Dropbox folder.

Any ideas?

Rich

@Operations8 wrote:
My files in dropbox folder are showing a grey X. Which often is a Windows error, but in this case probably not. I am ONLY getting it in my Dropbox folder. Any ideas?

Dropbox has no grey X icon. What you're seeing is likely coming from Windows.

Operations8

Ok. But why only in Dropbox folder then? And i removed and regenerated icon db files. And i disconnected my dropbox account (and reconnected).

Plus everything seems to be working fine.

Megan

Hi @Operations8, happy Monday!

Do you use any third-party apps other than Dropbox that have access to your files, such as Google Drive?

Let me know more!

QuestionBox

This problem has been several weeks now. On my Windows 10 computer, the files under my dropbox folder appear with grey-colored "X" signs.

What is this?

The dropbox guidance on sync icon ( https://help.dropbox.com/sync/sync-icons ) does not list a sync icon that looks like this.

Megan

Hi @QuestionBox, how are you today?

I merged your post under this thread, since others had expressed the same inquiry, and I want to keep everything at the same place.

Feel free to have a look at what others have suggested, and all the troubleshooting steps mentioned, and let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you!

DROPTHBOX

I have bought a new laptop that was not connected to my Dropbox account and have also upgraded Dropbox in that time. After doing some research the following worked
Open Dropbox on your mobile
Go to Dropbox.com/connect
A barcode will come up on the screen
Scan with your phone.
Dropbox will install on the computer and update

After this, I still see the x but once I click on a file, it opens and the x go away.

Problem solved

DROPTHBOX

I have bought a new laptop that was not connected to my Dropbox account and have also upgraded Dropbox in that time. After doing some research the following worked
Open Dropbox on your mobile
Go to Dropbox.com/connect on your new computer
A barcode will come up on the screen
Scan with your phone.
Dropbox will install on the computer and update

After this, I still see the x but once I click on a file, it opens and the x go away.

Problem solved